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CPS

OUR FOUNDATION

Mission, Vision & Values

The principles that guide everything we do at the Center for Psychotherapy Safety.

Our Mission

To advance psychotherapy safety through evidence-based education, transparent standards, and practical resources that serve consumers, support clinicians, and inform policymakers.

Our Vision

A world where every person who enters psychotherapy can trust that their safety is protected by robust evidence-based standards, informed consent is meaningful, and the profession continuously learns from both its successes and its failures.

Our Values

These seven core values inform every decision, publication, and recommendation we make.

Evidence Over Opinion

We ground every claim in peer-reviewed research, evaluated through our transparent evidence-grading framework. When evidence is limited, we say so clearly.

Patient Safety First

The well-being of therapy clients is our non-negotiable priority. Every resource we create asks: does this help protect people seeking mental health care?

Professional Respect

We honor clinicians' expertise and dedication while maintaining that accountability and safety standards strengthen—rather than threaten—the profession.

Transparency

Our methods, funding sources, evidence ratings, and reasoning are always open to scrutiny. We publish what we find, even when it's uncomfortable.

Independence

No funder, partner, professional association, or stakeholder influences our conclusions. Editorial independence is non-negotiable.

Accessibility

We translate complex research into language everyone can understand. Safety information should be available to all, not locked behind academic paywalls.

Just Culture

We distinguish between systemic failures and individual negligence, focusing on improving systems rather than assigning blame. We learn from errors to prevent future harm.

Patient safety is not a critique of psychotherapy—it is the highest expression of our commitment to the people we serve.

Center for Psychotherapy Safety founding principle